Use Your PC to Build an Incredible Home Theater System

• Covers basic audio and video concepts, and shows how they relate to computer-based multimedia
• Contains reviews and recommendations of hardware and software that make the home theater person computer (HTPC) work
• Includes photos, descriptions, and explanations of difficult procedures and concepts to make creating your own HTPC easier

Use Your PC to Build an Incredible Home Theater System is meant for those home theater enthusiasts with some working knowledge of personal computers (PCs) who want to create the ultimate home theater experience. A Home Theater Personal Computer (HTPC) is basically an ordinary PC used in conjunction with a high-definition-capable television, monitor, or video projector, and a sound system. The book is laid out chronologically and follows the authors' activities as they assemble two HTPC systems, starting with a detailed background of video and audio technologies to help readers understand what the HTPC can do.

An HTPC can do much more than play DVD movies on a HDTV-ready television. The convergence of computers and digital entertainment formats means that the PC platform is well suited to reproducing audio in many formats, including converting older analog recordings to digital. It is also great for capturing and editing home movies, implementing a personal video recorder, creating slide-show presentations with digital pictures, videoconferencing, and much more. Use Your PC to Build an Incredible Home Theater System will show readers how to set up an HTPC for the most complete home theater experience available.

Jeff Govier is a computer software developer and PC hobbyist with more than 10 years of experience in the high-tech industry. He is the coauthor of two PC hardware guides and is a home theater enthusiast. The evolution of the PC into a home entertainment center is something he's been waiting many years for.